


An Unlikely Fixer

by lowbudgetcyborg



Category: Firefly, The Hobbit (2012)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-04-08
Updated: 2013-04-08
Packaged: 2017-12-07 22:13:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 429
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/753675
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lowbudgetcyborg/pseuds/lowbudgetcyborg
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Inara knows someone who knows someone who can help the Serenity crew sell the Lassiter.</p>
            </blockquote>





	An Unlikely Fixer

**Author's Note:**

> Hobbit/Firefly fusion AU. Post “Trash”, pre-movie for Firefly, pre-quest for The Hobbit.

Inara was surprised that none of her contacts had panned out for fencing the Lassiter. She thought that her growing comfort with disreputable elements was beginning to bleed over from home to work, but apparently none of them were disreputable _enough_. She had one more possibility, one she had left for last due to the tenuousness of the connection. She had not seen or spoken with her old calligraphy tutor for many years, and he might not be at home to sudden inquiries about his estranged brother. On the other hand, he had always seemed to enjoy talking about his brother, in a bitter-sweet way, and dwarves lived long lives compared to humans, so the years might seem shorter to him.

She schooled her expression and body language into neutral pleasantness as she waited for the cortex to establish a connection.

Luckily, the call was picked up live instead of going to a message in-box. Except for being dressed in a loose sweater and not a crisp linen tunic the little scribe looked just the same as when she had seen him last. Inara was momentarily overwhelmed by the memory of the day she met him. Nandi had brought Inara along with her to a tutoring session and Ori had bribed Nandi with promises to teach her bawdy dwarven songs if she finished copying her sutras. Once Inara had thought of him as very grown-up, though not as mysterious or exciting a grown up as the fully-trained Companions. His wide brown eyes seemed jarringly young to her now.

“Miss Inara!” He bowed and smiled.

She bowed in return. “Instructor Ori. I hope my call finds you well?” He had not been an official instructor, but all the initiates he tutored had nick-named him so, just to see him blush and stammer that he was still only an apprentice scribe.

“Yes, thank you. And yourself? I’ve heard you’ve taken to adventuring between worlds.” He sounded a little wistful. Even though he was on Blue Mountain now, farther from the core than Sihnon, his oldest brother Dori (who had ruled the House Madrassa tearooms with his command of diverse tea cultures) probably still managed to keep his life mostly safe and predictable.

“Actually, I’ve been a little more adventurous than usual lately. I find myself in a situation I think your middle brother could help with…”

Ori’s eyebrows climbed until they were hidden by his fringe, but he looked envious and not at all disapproving as they discussed how best to arrange contact between his brother Nori and the Serenity crew.


End file.
